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Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) today announced that John M. Turner Jr. will become chief executive oficer of Regions Bank and Regional Financial Corp. July 2.

Turner, 56, who currently serves as president, will succeed chairman and CEO Grayson Hall, 60. Hall will serve as executive chairman through the end of the year.

Turner joined Regions in 2011 as the regional president of the South region and led banking operations in Alabama, Mississippi, South Louisiana, and the Florida panhandle. He was named head of Regions' corporate bank in 2014 and president in 2017.

Visitors spent an estimated $1.9 billion in the greater Birmingham area in 2017, according a new economic impact study from the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

This is a 5 percent increase over 2016 spending totals, according to the study, which is commissioned annually by the CVB and is conducted by Davidson-Peterson Associates, a national travel research firm with headquarters in Maine.

In October 2007, a few INDYCAR teams arrived at a road course in the South amid rumors that the series was considering a race there.

The facility had been in use for four years, most notably for AMA Superbike races, and was renowned for its beauty.

But the people who tested that day weren't convinced it would work as a race venue. For offseason testing purposes, yes, it was suitable. It wasn't a terribly long haul from Indianapolis, and the fall and spring weather was warm enough for testing. But for a race? Eh.